


Molly Hooper, Former Ballerina

by Ruruu137



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: A Bit of Fluff, F/M, based on a prompt, molly was a dancer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 21:59:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14198550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruruu137/pseuds/Ruruu137
Summary: Molly Hooper had a secret that the consulting detective only recently found out.





	Molly Hooper, Former Ballerina

**Author's Note:**

> So I've posted this one on Tumblr a few days ago under a different title. If there's one thing I suck at, it's giving titles to my works (that, and swimming). *facepalms*
> 
> Right now I can't think straight since I found out my dad's been in an accident this afternoon. He's okay, other than a few stitches to his face, but since he wears glasses it broke and cuts his eyelid. His thigh is broken and has to be operated soon. Other than that, he's fine. For a brief moment, I was worried that I might receive a phone call from my mum saying that he didn't make it.
> 
> Enough sentiments; Sherlock would disapprove. Anyway, this was based on a prompt I found on Pinterest, based on Tumblr. On to the story:

* * *

 

**The Tumblr page bbcsherlockheadcanon said: _"Molly was a fantastic ballet dancer in her youth, until social anxiety got the better of her ad she left the pointe shoes for a lab coat. Occasionally she dances round the lab alone. Sherlock saw her once, and couldn't help but ask her for one dance."_**

 

* * *

 

One day when Molly was five years old, her mother took her to see a ballet performance while they were visiting her dad’s old friend in London. It was from a Russian ballet group, and that was the first time Molly was mesmerized by the type of dance. How the dancers moved elegantly across the stage and Molly had loved the way the dancers could stand on their tiptoes while they danced. When they returned home, her mother caught her trying to imitate the ballerina’s pirouette from earlier.

 

Samantha Hooper then found a ballet class for children around Molly’s age and immediately signed up her daughter’s name. Molly was super excited then, meeting new friends and having an amazing teacher were what encouraged Molly to keep attending the lessons. Over the years, Molly’s ballet lessons improved. Her teacher even once complimented her, saying she was “one of the best ones in the class.” Molly was looked up by her friends, but that did not make her arrogant over her abilities.

 

When Samantha was involved in a car crash and was put into a coma for several months, Molly used her grief to dance better “so I can make my mummy proud, no matter where or how she is.” Thankfully Samantha recovered, although she had lost use of her legs. But she did not allow Molly to quit dancing.

 

“You have to learn to appreciate what you have, Mols,” she told Molly in an almost scolding manner. Molly apologized and did better than ever.

 

When she was a teenager, she had to move to a different class with a different teacher. Although the teacher was mildly strict, it was her fellow dancers that nearly broke Molly.

 

Apparently, word had reached to them that “the best dancer in town” was joining their class and they were jealous. After every practice, at least one of them would pull Molly aside and started to point out the parts where Molly had gotten wrong, or how her performance lacked emotion and sensitivity. They even mocked her worn-out ballet shoes, the one that was handed over to her by her previous teacher (It’s not that Molly and her parents could not afford to buy a new pair, Molly just appreciated the gift and felt guilty every time she thought of replacing the shoes with a new pair.)

 

That made Molly upset, yet she refused to tell her parents about her new ‘friends’. She did not have the heart to tell them that the main reason she refused to get out of bed on the weekends and head to the school was because she wouldn’t dare to face them. Yet, she braced herself and continued on (even though her heart was feeling heavy.)

 

Then came the news of her father’s passing. The three of them had known that James Hooper had heart problems, but they were still shocked and extremely saddened by his sudden passing. The shock had affected Molly the most; she couldn’t perform well in front of her teacher a week after his funeral and although her teacher’s scolding was not harsh, Molly did not miss the way the other dancers snickered at seeing Molly being berated for losing her concentration.

 

Molly didn’t tell her mother the real reason why, but instead she said that she was tired of dancing and wanted to focus on her studies (not that she had been ignoring them for dancing, in fact Molly was one of the top students at her school.) Although her mother was saddened to hear that she was giving up dancing, her sadness disappeared when soon afterwards, Molly had won the scholarship to study pathology in Scotland.

 

It had been many years since Molly Hooper had danced ballet, but she still hadn’t forgotten.

 

~*~

 

Molly was cleaning up the remains of Sherlock Holmes’s recent experiment when the Consulting Detective approached her from behind, startling her.

 

“Sherlock!” she squealed in surprise. She placed her hand on her wildly beating heart to calm herself. “How many times have I told you not to creep up on me from behind like that?”

 

Sherlock did not respond and Molly was not surprised. “Is there anything else that you need?” she asked warily when she noticed he was staring hard at her.

 

“You didn’t tell me you can dance.”

 

Molly froze. “Well, I…I was. I mean, I did.”

 

“Why?” As in, why didn’t she tell him? Molly inwardly frowned, why should he know?

 

“I just thought that…you might’ve figured it out before…”

 

Sherlock pursed his lips, making him look adorable, Molly thought. He then proceeded to pull out his phone from his pocket. He pressed something on the phone and showed to screen to Molly. She felt blood draining from her face as she saw what she was showing to her.

 

A video that was obviously secretly recorded from the door showed Molly flitting smoothly around the lab as she cleaned up from the day. It was taken four days ago, Molly remembered as she came to a horror realization that she was not alone on that day. She had thought everyone else (including Sherlock who showed up to get the eyeballs of a dead diabetic woman) had returned home since it was late at that time.

 

She turned on the music from her phone: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. She had played the role of a sugar plum fairy back when she was 10; it was many years ago but she still remembered the moves. The space around the lab was small, but Molly, learning from her teacher, had learned how to maneuver herself around the small space. She danced while humming the song, fondly smiling as she remembered her innocent days.

 

And she certainly did not notice Sherlock admired her smooth moves and the way her lab coat flowed as she moved and did a perfect pirouette.

 

“I couldn’t stop watching.” Sherlock pulled back the phone and watched the video (for the tenth time since he recorded it), a fond expression on his face. “Why did you stop, though?”

 

Molly sighed. “I prefer not to talk about it.”

 

But of course, Sherlock could tell. “They hurt you. Your friends, I mean. Or maybe they’re not your friends,” he said as he watched her facial expressions carefully.

 

Molly smiled ruefully. “Yeah, they’re…not exactly nice to me.”

 

Molly, embarrassed at being caught dancing and wanting to drop the subject, immediately turned around back to the table and continued to clean up the mess. She could still feel Sherlock standing behind her still. After several minutes, Molly was starting to feel annoyed.

 

“Sherlock, if I’m not mistaken, you have case to solve.”

 

She didn’t mean for her voice to be quite rude, but she was tired, it was nearly 8 p.m. and the subject of her former dancers had irritated her. Right now, she was feeling a huge urge to head straight home afterwards and watch Rowan Atkinson’s shows to make herself feel better.

 

“Solved it, fifteen minutes ago.”

 

Molly sighed somewhat angrily. “Then what else do you want?”

 

She was not expecting Sherlock Holmes to tenderly place his hand on her shoulder and slowly turn her around to face him once again. Molly’s heart swelled when she noticed the affectionate expression on his face.

 

While placing his hands on her hips and gently pulled her closer to him, he said, “May I share a dance with you, Molly Hooper?”

 

Molly stared into his eyes, shocked at the sudden act of tenderness from the great detective that it took her a while to smile back at him. “Yes, please.”


End file.
